Lights Will Guide You Home
by ASDF Rainbow Ninja
Summary: Destiel high school AU. Dean and Cas have been best friends forever, and the constant teasing about them being more hasn't changed that. When Castiel finally realizes how he feels about Dean, everything turns for the worst. When Dean finally realizes how he feels about Cas, it might already be too late. It takes a near-death, music, and Sam to help them get their shit together.
1. Prologue

_"What kind of name is Castiel?"_

_It was Castiel's third day of school ever, and some kid named Raphael already hated him because of his name. He was huge, much bigger than Castiel, and very formidable._

_"It's my name, and I like it." he attempted to offend himself, but Raphael just mockingly laughed. "Well it's like a hippie name or something. Were your parents high when they had you?" His laughter grew, and Castiel's face and ears burned from embarrassment. He wanted to cry, because he didn't know what else to do- he had always been homeschooled, and never had to deal with other children. Anna and Balthazar couldn't protect him, since they were in sixth grade now, and though Gabriel was in fifth along with Castiel, he was inside, banned from recess because he pranked some girl named Lisa. And then Michael and Lucifer were both in eighth grade, with no ability to even keep an eye on their younger siblings._

_It didn't help that he also had no idea what "being high" was, so he was extremely confused._

_"Hey!" Raphael yelled, shoving Castiel to gain a reaction from him. The clumsy boy, unable to catch himself, fell hard onto the sidewalk, and he wondered where exactly the teachers and the concerned children were to help. "I'm talking to you, Ass-tiel."_

_"It's Castiel..." he corrected in a mumble, and the larger kid literally picked him up by the collar of his shirt to bring him to his face. "Excuse you?" Castiel gasped for hair, fumbling to be lowered but not able to shout for help._

_"Hey! Leave him alone, Raph!" Castiel thanked God and Jesus and that boy that finally noticed his distress._

_"Winchester?" Raphael sounded confused, still holding Castiel above the ground. He struggled against his grip, so Raphael tightened it._

_"Raphael. Let. Him. Go." This "Winchester" boy was serious, and when he approached, the first thing Castiel noticed is that freckles encrusted his face, dusting over his nose and cheeks like stars decorating the night sky. Then he admired his size- he wasn't as big as Raphael, but definitely bigger than himself. So maybe he could take the bully. He did seem angry enough._

_Raphael stared at him for a moment before chuckling. "Oh, c'mon, Dean, we're friends. Let's mess with this kid together." Friends? Castiel struggled again, trying to shove Raphael's giant fists away, but he wouldn't comply._

_Fury sparked within Dean's eyes, darkening to a forest green. "Raphael, I'm not going to ask you to let him go again." he threatened, voice low and menacing. The bully finally rolled his eyes with a deep sigh and dropped Castiel, who crumpled onto the ground, unable to gain any footing. Dean offered him his hand. "You okay?" The injured boy looked up from his scuffed up hands with his glassy, sapphire irises, through his dark hair that hung in his face. He smiled shyly, and accepted his help. "Thanks."_

_"What's wrong with you, Winchester? You used to be cool." Raphael scoffed, folding his arms and glaring daggers at Dean. He motioned to Castiel. "It's not cool to hurt people, man." The glare intensified, and Castiel inched behind his savior, even though he wasn't the one being stared down._

_"Well then. I'll leave you with your new boyfriend." Raphael's tone was bitter, but he smirked when Dean's knuckles turned white in their clenched state and his jaw shifted from grinding his teeth._

_But, of course, Castiel couldn't bite his tongue for two damned seconds. "Boys can't have boyfriends..." Dean looked back to him, green eyes wide but not judging like Raphael's were. "Dude, how stupid are you? Ask your mommy what 'gay' means."_

_He couldn't, though. His mother was dead._

_"You need to leave." Dean all but growled, voice rumbling deep in his chest. Raphael complied reluctantly...but not before slamming into Castiel as he made his retreat. He would've crashed onto the ground once again if Dean didn't have quick reflexes and hadn't caught him. He righted him before he strode up behind Raphael, turned him around, and punched the living daylights out of him. He fell to the ground with great force._

_Of course, everyone noticed that, and the teachers rushed over to restrain Dean and Raphael, who actually struggled to get loose against his male captors._

_"You never bother this kid again. You hear me?!" Dean barked at him, but the teachers forced them away from each other before Raphael could spit anything out. Castiel followed desperately behind. "Dean was just trying to save me. Raphael was bullying me. Please let him go."_

_One teacher he didn't recognize looked back at him. "He was violent towards another student. You do need to come with us too, though." Castiel obeyed, following them away from the playground. Eventually they let Dean go, and only one teacher remained to lead them. Castiel couldn't help but stare at his savior, eyes huge. Dean was clearly avoiding his gaze, arms crossed and face blank, staring straight ahead at their impending doom- the principal's office._

_Raphael was already being questioned as they entered the hallway, as the children barely saw him disappear into the room._

_"Sit down and be quiet. I'll be back in a moment." Both children obeyed, plopping down into two of the several chairs that lined the wall. Their escort stalked off, leaving Castiel to play with his hands, contemplating starting up a conversation._

_Luckily, he didn't have to. "So, what did you do to get on his bad side?" Dean wondered, looking over at him. Castiel shrugged stiffly. "I didn't do anything. He was just making fun of my name and I corrected him when he pronounced it wrong." Dean sucked in air through his teeth, as if hissing in pain. "Raphael doesn't like to be wrong. That's why." Castiel finally looked over to Dean. "Is he a friend of yours?" Dean scoffed, rubbing his knuckles, which were swollen and red. "Not anymore. He hurts people. I don't agree with that. Unless they deserve it, I mean." He smirked and looked towards the door the jerk hid behind. Castiel also looked toward it, staring until Dean nudged him, making him jump slightly. He turned to him._

_"What's your name, anyway? Isn't it something foreign?" Dean inquired, raising his eyebrow. Castiel had to admit that he was a bit frightened of sharing his name now- so many of the children in his class had normal names, such as Dean, Charlie, Lisa, Zach, even Gabriel was a bit more normal...then he was Castiel. Although Raphael was an odd name, he knew he would never inform him of that. He would be squished like a bug._

_"It's...Castiel." he mumbled shyly, blushing embarrassedly and turning away._

_Dean was silent for a moment. "Yeah, that is a bit weird." Castiel sighed, wanting to curl up in a ball and disappear forever. He brought his legs up to his chest, heels of his shoes on the edge of the chair._

_"But not as weird as Raphael. I mean, c'mon, at least you weren't named after a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle." Castiel couldn't help but giggle at that, and they laughed until their sides hurt and tears pricked at their eyes. Castiel couldn't ever remember laughing that hard before. He grinned widely at Dean, who returned it._

_"Are you going to be in trouble?" Castiel wondered, concern leaking through his tone. Dean shrugged._

_"Probably. My dad's kinda strict, but my mom'll try to talk it out with him." Dean shot him an award-winning smile. "What about yours?" Castiel finally felt like he could open up to someone that wasn't a sibling- because as Dean would soon find out, Castiel did not really have parents._

_And so Castiel told Dean his story._

_TMNT, as Dean and Castiel now called him, was suspended for a week, and in ISS after that for even longer. Dean was simply in ISS for a week. Castiel learned self defense from Dean, considering that they were now best friends, and though he never really gained anymore, he wasn't ever really alone._


	2. Chapter 1

Castiel's everyday attire ranged from "preppy rich kid" to "casual Friday" to "I'm as lazy as fuck so leave me alone."

Dean usually knew the reason for any of these outfits, but he didn't know whether to feel strange about it or not. Castiel and him were best friends. Like two peas in a pod, as his mom put it, quite embarrassingly too. But they really were that close. Some days they practically lived together- it was only a ten minute walk, and an even shorter drive, from house to house, so they visited whenever they pleased.

But then again, did typical male best friends pay attention to clothes and why the clothes were chosen? Surely it shouldn't have mattered that much. But to Dean it did.

Today, Cas was decked out in a good pair of jeans- the ones you'd get from Hollister or Abercrombie, ripped in rows on the thighs through only the blue layer- some black band T-shirt that was actually Dean's (because Cas didn't really even _like_ AC/DC ) (who the hell didn't like _AC/DC?!_), his black and blue striped hoodie that Dean had bought him Sophomore year when people gave him shit about his seemingly epic trench coat, and black Converse. Dean expected him to show up in sweats, honestly- his home had been chaotic for the past couple of days. Dean guessed it was because they lived in a huge fucking house in the rich part of the neighborhood and it was hard to clean, which was necessary when the Novak's two college boys, Lucifer and Michael, were coming home for Christmas break for three whole freaking weeks. He figured Lucifer's dorm room was messier than the entire house itself, though, and that he wouldn't even mind the mess...

Dean finally approached Castiel, sliding onto the desk beside the one Cas was standing in front of. It was 1st period, and the minute bell had just rang.

"That's my shirt." Dean nudged Cas in the side with his elbow, a cheeky, lopsided grin plastered on his face. Castiel looked down at it, grimacing teasingly. "Yes, only you would listen to such horrid music." Dean backhanded his shoulder, hardly abrasive about it. "Hey, AC/DC is great, man! You're the one into Coldplay over here." He gestured to him with a frown, though his green eyes were dark with mischievousness. Castiel sighed, rolling his sky blue eyes towards the ceiling. This was only the- what, 100th?- time he'd had this argument with Dean. "There is nothing wrong with Coldplay."

Dean chuckled, rubbing his face before replying. "There is _everything_ wrong with Coldplay, Cas. Half their songs make no sense!"

"There's a deeper meaning."

"Deeper meaning my ass."

"Was that an intended pun?" Dean looked over to Castiel, almost shocked. He, on the other hand, was grinning smugly, and Dean almost slapped it off his face when the final bell rang. He groaned, because it was time for English, and Miss. Naomi was pretty freaking strict. And had it out for the Winchester.

_God help Sammy when he gets here. _

So Dean was like two seconds from taking his actual seat, but of course, Miss. Naomi had to bitch at him for something. "Mr. Winchester, off the top of the desk. My classroom is not your playground." Dean just obeyed- he didn't even bother to respect her with a "yes m'am" when she hated him for literally no reason.

He made sure her back was turned before smacking Castiel in the back of his head for laughing quietly.

"Isn't that Dean's shirt?"

Second period was his blow off period, which was Art. Mrs. V was awesome and literally told the class that as long as they turned something in by the end of the week that wasn't "BS'd" that she didn't care much about what they did in class (Dean had already turned in his drawing of his car, and it wasn't half bad). Also, he had that period with Charlie and Cas, so it was even better.

"Yeah, it is." Dean glared playfully at Castiel, who was too focused on his project to notice. They sat right next to each other on one of three long tables that were connected in a U formation- Castiel stayed in the inside corner where two of the tables met.

Charlie laughed from across the same table, twirling her bright red hair around her finger. "Did you guys have a sleepover last night or something?" Her project was busy drying, as she had made a replica of Hermione's wand.

"No, that's why I'm wondering why you have my shirt and are wearing it." Dean turned to Castiel as he spoke, who redirected his attention to Dean. "This was the only shirt I had available." Dean scoffed, muttering something about "not being able to pull it off." It was Cas's turn to glare, but before he could reply, Charlie butt in. "Actually, Castiel can pull it off quite well."

Dean felt his annoyance grow for his best female friend taking his first of two male best friends' side. "Wrong team, Charlie." he complained with a grumble. She giggled. "Doesn't mean I don't find guys attractive."

Dean's jaw dropped. "You said you didn't!" He gestured widely to her.

"No, I said _you_ weren't." Charlie giggled again, and Castiel chuckled quietly. Dean helplessly looked between them before exclaiming, "Oh, c'mon!"

Charlie's laughter calmed down, finally. "I'm just kidding, calm down. Anyway, what are you bitches doing for the break?" Castiel tilted his head in his usual confused fashion. It was Friday, but not the last one before Christmas break. "We still have a week of school after the weekend..."

Charlie shrugged. "So?"

"I'm mainly staying home. I'll hang out with Castiel, since you and Benny are both going out of state." Dean answered. Benny, one of Dean's best friends who was on the wrestling team with him, was returning to his home state, Louisiana, and was leaving on Wednesday. Charlie was heading for Colorado, where her mother grew up. Castiel, on the other hand, wasn't leaving at all to visit anyone- their father was too busy running his company in New York and didn't want to be bothered, and his mother...well. She had passed away not long after Cas was born. That was why Mr. Novak was away, to try and forget about his wife and their youngest son that who's looks and personality took almost directly after her.

After that, they didn't have any other family- just the two college brothers (Michael at 22 and Lucifer at 21), left in charge years ago to take care of their younger siblings, and had put Balthazar, 19, a senior, in charge after a lot of persuasion. Then there was Anna, who was 18 and also a senior, Gabriel, 17, and lastly there was 16-year old Cas, both of them juniors.

They shared the same grades because of their past of being homeschooled- as it had been easier back then, two children at a time were kept at the same level of schooling. But they had no friends and were constantly arguing with each other, so when Castiel was in fifth grade schooling, they transferred to Lawrence ISD.

It was the best decision the family had ever made, in Castiel's opinion.

"Sounds boring." Charlie yawned, winking at Castiel as he glared at her. "Isn't Jo coming down?"

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, but my cousin is off-limits." Charlie snorted and waved him off. "Dude, please, I got over that." There was a light flush gracing her pale cheeks, but Dean just grinned softly and let it slide. "She likes Castiel, anyway." She wasn't serious, just teasing the dark haired boy who had stopped listening to work on his charcoal project. He nearly jumped, baby blue eyes wide and flickering between Charlie and Dean. "She what?"

Dean and Charlie exchanged mischievous glances before giggling. Dean slapped his back. "Yeah, Cas, why don't you date my cousin?" Castiel rolled his eyes, sighing before completely turning to him. "Dean, I am not interested in dating anyone." he said seriously.

"I can tell by your total number of girlfriends ever." Castiel's lips parted to speak, but Charlie beat him to it. "Zilch." She held up the number 0 with her fingers, curving her thumb and pointer finger to meet.

"Exactly." Dean nodded in agreement, thumb pointed to her.

Another sigh escaped Cas's lips. "You don't have to be in a relationship to be happy. I am happy being single and having two assholes as friends." His small grin proved he was only kidding. He would say three friends, but Benny and him didn't really get along all that well. Benny didn't trust anyone that easily, and that included the usually quiet teenager.

Castiel went back to frowning when Charlie suddenly smacked Dean's arm, leaning across the table. "Remember when Meg was all over him?" Cas pressed his hand into his face frustratedly.

"Oh yeah! Man, she was in love with you." Dean managed through his laughter, and Castiel removed his hand, glaring darkly. "She was not in love with me," he claimed, "She requested to go to prom and I said I wasn't sure if I would like to." Remembering that moment, he felt his cheeks grow warm.

The Dean spoke out loud what Castiel was thinking of. "Then she tried to make out with you to persuade you!" He was laughing so hard he slapped his thigh, which was so incredibly southern and Benny-like that Castiel almost punched him. Not being the one for violence, he instead flushed bright red and averted his gaze. "Do not remind me."

"Word on the street is she still has the hots for you, Castiel." Charlie teased, and Cas only ducked his head and focused intensely on his art. "That does not matter."

"Alright, Cas, we'll stop giving you crap." Dean sighed, and Castiel nodded thankfully. "Thank you."

It was silent among the three for a few moments before Charlie spoke. "Yeah, we'll give Dean crap instead. Where's _your_ girlfriend, hotshot?" Dean groaned and slammed his forehead into the table, making Castiel jump and then hurriedly check his drawing to see if he had messed up before staring at the side of Dean's face with half amusement and half concern. "He has dated so many girls during his Freshman and Sophomore years that there is no one left." Dean cracked one eye open to look at his best friend, and then turned his head to look at him. "Oh, shut up," he ordered, "I'm just not interested in anyone right now." Castiel wondered just why he noticed the way Dean's cheek looked chubby pressed against the flatness of the table. He wasn't sure guys were supposed to pay special attention to other guys faces. He always had, though, noticed the simple things about Dean. He never focused on other guys or girls, just Dean. He constantly wondered if he was destined to never love anyone when he had never been interested in even Meg who had stuffed her tongue down his damn throat. He liked the attention, but it didn't feel right- so he had shoved her away and hadn't counted that as his first kiss. 16 and never been kissed. It really sucked sometimes, but he wanted it to be with someone he actually cared about...

Dean was his polar opposite. At 17, he'd had too many girlfriends to keep track of, went to second base on several, and was somewhat sexually active- he was still a virgin, of course...

Well. Until recently. Suddenly Dean just fell off the radar, and he never even talked to girls other than Charlie.

Or maybe _they_ didn't talk to _him_.

Charlie's voice made Dean's head raise to her, chin resting on the table now, "Dean? Not interested in any hot girl? There are plenty of girls that you could date." Dean sat up only to lean back in his chair, intertwining his own fingers to lay his hands against his muscled stomach.

"You can take Meg." Castiel threw in, smirking. Dean's annoyed glare only made it grow.

"Or Lilith." Charlie laughed.

"There's Tessa."

"Bela."

"Lisa."

Dean groaned and rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginning of a headache forming. "Guys-"

"Cassie!" Charlie cut him off, and Castiel stared at her, eyes like discs. He went pale in the face due to dread before the blood rushed back, flooding his cheeks. He gaped, mouth working, but words refusing to leave his tight throat.

At least Dean could speak after a moment. "Uh, dude. No." He glanced at Castiel, who noticed and ducked his head down and away to avoid his intensely bright green gaze.

Charlie threw her arms forward and waved her hands dramatically while shaking her head. "No no no, not Castiel. Cassie Robinson." Castiel finally clamped his mouth shut, suddenly remembering what _oxygen_ and _breathing_ were.

"Ugh, okay guys. Enough." _Thank God_, Castiel thought, the urge to evacuate the area fading away slowly. He really liked Art, and he didn't want to spend the entire period wishing he were somewhere else that wasn't in the same vicinity as his best friends.

He finished his charcoal with five minutes to spare, noticing that what started out as a pair of dark wings turned into a faceless angel.

"That's really good, Castiel. It looks like it took on it's own personality." Mrs. V quipped, and Castiel nodded dumbly. "Yeah," he agreed, "it does."

Dean hated not having lunch with Cas and Charlie, but he did have it with Benny.

"Hey, brother." Benny said in his deep southern drawl as he approached Dean's beautiful black '67 Chevy Impala. They engaged in their usual handshake before climbing into the vehicle and driving to the nearest fast food place, not wanting a case of food poisoning from eating the school's food like some poor girl named Becky had suffered from...

"You gonna stay after school today?" Benny asked as Dean handed him a bag filled with a pair of burgers and fries and another bag with a second burger in it. Benny knew who that was for, considering Castiel had lunch next period and was in love with burgers. Dean took the drinks from the drive-thru worker and handed two to Benny as well, putting his in the drink holder. "Yeah, for a bit. Cas has track practice and I'm taking him home." He drove off back towards the school as Benny pulled out the food, setting Castiel's on the floorboard safely. "Alright, I'll stay after too, then," Benny offered, "Gives me a chance to make you tap out." He smirked challengingly, and Dean laughed haughtily. "You wish, Lafitte." Benny was heavy set and strong, but he didn't have the speed or the stamina. Dean was the opposite, real fast and loaded with stamina. He was strong, but not as strong as Benny- he was the best weightlifter at Lawrence, and had won several awards from powerlifting.

Benny chuckled before biting into his burger. "Yeah, okay, you keep bragging, state champ," he said around his food, "You do have the right." Last year, Dean had won the state championship, and Benny had actually got second- it was a bit hard when Dean realized that he had to wrestle his best friend for the winning title, but Benny was a good sport about it. They had a friendly competition about wrestling, and actually tipped each other on certain things.

"'Course I do." As soon as Dean pulled into the parking lot, he dug into his bacon cheeseburger. He moaned quietly, having not eaten one in a while.

"Get a room." Benny remarked, and Dean threw a fry at him. "Shuddup. These things are my freakin' life." Benny shrugged in surrender, picking up the stray fry that had fallen on his lap and then eating it. "Fair enough. Anyway, why does Castiel have track practice? Track season's not for a while."

"Coach Turner says he has potential and could even beat Zachariah if he practiced enough and showed devotion." Zachariah was one of the biggest jocks at the school, and he hardly refused to leave Castiel alone, unless Coach Turner interfered. Dean had already threatened him after he shoved Cas while flying past him on the track, making him fall and sprain his ankle.

Benny finished his burger on his fourth bite, making Dean think, _Damn_. "Doesn't he have asthma though?" He took a drink of his sweet tea- nothing like his momma made, that was for sure- and shoved a couple fries in his mouth. Dean shook his head and looked at his only half finished sandwich. "Not anymore, I don't think." Castiel had a really bad attack back in sixth grade from the harsh change in weather and being too active. After he was released from the hospital he was put on breathing treatments for a year, and then went to a simple emergency inhaler. As he paced himself, he eventfully overcame it, and could run around the track without much of a problem. He never even had to use the inhaler in high school, and stopped carrying it around. He still got refills, though, just in case. Plus, ever-worrying Anna always insisted.

"But it can come back." Benny's deep rumbling brought Dean back to reality, and he nearly glared at his friend, wondering if he was intentionally attempting to worry him. "Yeah, but he knows the risks of running, especially in cold weather. He won't push it." He wasn't entirely convinced that it would be enough- it was getting colder than usual in Lawrence, and Cas was determined to be faster than Zachariah.

_No, he'll be fine. Quit the unnecessary worrying. _

Benny still wasn't helping. "Even to beat a dick like Zachariah?"

Dean snorted. "Yeah, Cas isn't stupid. He knows none of those dicks are worth it." He finally finished his burger, but Benny was slurping what was left of his drink. Dean couldn't help but grin amusedly to himself.

"Yeah, why do they all have beef with you two anyway?" Benny wondered, "I know about Alistair, but why the others?" By 'all', Benny meant the five dicks who have made it their life goal to bring a living hell to Dean and Cas, or anyone they associated with. Raphael, the one who bullied Cas in fifth grade, hasn't changed- he was the leader. He was also part of the powerlifting team, which was so lucky for Benny. Next in command was Alistair, who was on Dean's baseball team during the summer and despised him for multiple reasons- mainly because Dean stood up to him for torturing some poor kid named Kevin in the hall one day, and was pissed when Dean made pitcher and he made outfielder. Then there was Uriel, who was dating Anna for a while until Castiel realized that he was only using her when he overheard him speaking to TMNT about it one day. Anna broke up with him, and Uriel began to hate any Novak that walked the Earth. Then there was Azazel and Zachariah, who just hated the boys because the others did. Boo freakin' hoo. Dean would beat the shit out of all of them if he needed to, and he knew he had Benny as backup and even Castiel if really necessary.

Dean proceeded to explain all this to him, eyeing the time to see that they only had five minutes left until the sixth period, which was Dean's AG class. Thanks to his knowledge on mechanics, which came from his father and his uncle Bobby, he could basically do anything in that class with his eyes closed. Of course, he wouldn't try that around a power saw, but still...

Benny and him cleared out the trash from the car, Benny trading the salad and water for some of Dean's liter. "You go deliver that to your boyfriend. I'll catch you during Chemistry." He hurried off, smirking widely as Dean yelled after him. "Castiel isn't my boyfriend!"

Benny turned around, walking backwards, and shouted back, "Sure he ain't!" Dean flipped him off and ignored the laughter he received in reply as he locked up his baby and hurried towards Castiel's locker to deliver his food.

After school, Dean waited for Castiel outside the locker room. Benny offered to wait with him but Dean declined, and they shared a bro fist before Benny headed out. Benny had done really well today, and had actually pulled Dean in a choke hold in the ring. Dean finally had to tap out, and now his neck was a bit sore, but he was used to it- it would be fine in the morning.

Dean almost waited inside the locker room, but Zachariah and TMNT were also in there, and he figured his very presence would ignite a fire. He played Tetris on his Blackberry while he waited, looking up every time the door squealed to find some random kid who also stayed after school on a Friday. _What's keeping Cas?_ He hoped the dicks weren't trying to start anything with him. Paranoia was eating at him, and he almost burst in when Castiel finally pushed open the door, hair soaked black and dripping in his face, cheeks flushed red, and his clothes sticking to his body awkwardly. Dean snorted. "They run out of towels?" Castiel glared at the door as if it were the cause of all his problems. "If Raphael taking mine counts as 'running out', then yes." Dean felt his blood boil, and he clenched both his teeth and fists, his glare more intense than Castiel's. He began to make his way towards it. "I'll make sure he never-" Castiel snapped his arm out, pushing Dean's forearm in protest. "Dean, please. Let's just go." Dean stared Castiel down for a moment, angry, forest green eyes boring into sky blue ones. He then sighed, and stepped back, eyes softening. "Fine. At least wear my jacket, though- you're soaked and it's freezing outside and you don't need hypothermia." Castiel didn't have time to argue as Dean had already thrown his gym bag down and shrugged his jacket off and was handing it to Cas. Sighing, he threw his own down and slid into the worn brown leather jacket that was a bit too big on him, but smelled musky, faintly of oil and metal, his cologne, and of the Impala, all mixed together to create a scent that was purely Dean. Dean grinned at him, grabbed his bag before he could, and carried them both out towards his baby, Castiel following him empty-handed. When the frigid wind whispered harshly against his skin, he shivered, pulling the coat tightly around him. He was quick to climb into the passenger seat and close the door. Dean slid in soon after, starting the car and blasting the heat for his shivering companion.

"You can pick the station." Dean offered, wrapping his arm around the seat and turning around to see the area behind him as he backed up. Castiel was taken off-guard- Dean had enforced the "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake-hole" rule since he had first received the car from his father. It was rare for anyone to choose the music other than Dean.

"You're awfully generous today." Castiel remarked, reaching for the dial to find the station where they played music like Coldplay and The Fray. Dean finished backing up and pulled out of the parking lot, grinning. "Just a bit. You're lucky I don't play my AC/DC tape."

"Oh, to match my shirt? So very thoughtful of you." Castiel bit back sarcastically, and Dean took his eyes off the road momentarily to glance at him. "It's _my_ shirt, bitch." Castiel reached over and smacked his shoulder. "Assbutt." Dean couldn't help but snort out his laughter, settling into chuckling that made Castiel feel like he wasn't part of some inside joke.

"Oh my God, Cas." Dean managed out.

"What?"

Dean let out a loud sigh, ending his laughter, and his next look towards his best friend could not be described as anything but endearing. "Nothing, just...don't ever change."


End file.
